38 children take ill after eating jatropha seeds

Raipur, Feb 18 (IANS) At least 38 children of a government primary school in Chhattisgarh were rushed to a hospital after eating jatropha seeds, officials said Wednesday. The incident took place Tuesday in village Madanpur in Jashpur district, some 450 km from here, when children while on their way home from school consumed the seeds.

Health officials at Jashpur district said that 12 of the kids, all below nine years of age, vomited consistently. But doctors said they were out of danger Wednesday evening.

Jatropha is a plant that grows up to three metres and produces inedible fruits. Several states, including Chhattisgarh, have planted its saplings in millions in a bid to extract bio-fuel from it.